Classical

October 01, 2009|By Steve Siegel SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL - Freelance

American composers celebrated in symphony's 'Voices'

From the glitter of Times Square to the squalid tenements of Charleston, S.C., America has given its composers a vast pallet with which to paint its portrait. On Saturday and Sunday at Symphony Hall, the Allentown Symphony Orchestra will sample that sonic landscape in a program featuring popular works of American composers Bernstein, Copland, Gershwin and Barber in its "American Voices" program.

Featured soloists are soprano Julie-Ann Whitely Green and baritone Edward Pleasant, who will sing selections from Gershwin's opera "Porgy and Bess."

"Porgy and Bess" is true American theater. Its 1935 premieres in Charleston, where the story is set, and Washington, D.C., were desegregated on the stage and in the audience for the first time in the histories of those cities.

More upbeat will be three dances from Leonard Bernstein's "On the Town," a musical written in 1944 based on music from his ballet "Fancy Free."

Capturing the intensity of the bustling metropolis and the high spirits of the sailors on leave will be "The Great Lover," "Lonely Town" and "Times Square -- 1944," a joyous fantasia on "New York, New York," the show's hit tune.

Aaron Copland evokes the quiet Pennsylvania countryside in "Appalachian Spring," also written in 1944. Based on Martha Graham's memories of her grandmother's farm, it concerns a celebration of spring and the emotionsof a young bride-to-be and her farmer-husband.

The Allentown Symphony has a weekend of extras associated with the concert. At noon Friday, there's a free brown bag talk with conductor Diane Wittry and guest artists. On Saturday, there's a pre-concert dinner at Symphony Hall ($55 per person, call 610-432-7961, ext. 200 for reservations).

And on Sunday, there's an afternoon of activities, starting at 12:30 p.m. with a visit to the Allentown Art Museum exhibition, "A Force for Change: African-American Art and the Julius Rosenwald Fund," followed at 1:30 p.m. by light refreshments and a pre-concert lecture at 2 p.m. by Jennifer Kelly, a conductor and assistant professor of music and director of choral activities at Lafayette College. Admission is $7; symphony ticketholders receive buy-one-get-one-free discount. Reservations requested. Call 610-432-433, ext. 29, or e-mail events@allentown artmuseum.org.

Almost from its inception, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra has made a point of stretching beyond its usual repertoire of Mozart, Bach and Haydn to embrace recent compositions. On Wednesday, the group will continue in this vein with a program of staples by Bach and Beethoven supplemented by a world premiere and one of Stravinsky's lesser-known chamber works.

Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud solos in Beethoven's D Major Violin Concerto, replacing Janine Jansen, who had to decline due to a shoulder injury. Kraggerud, 36, is one of Scandinavia's most sought-after artists.

Its physical and emotional demands have made the piece a rite of passage among violin soloists. It is glorious, beginning with a chorale-like setting introduced by the woodwinds, before the violin soars into its highest register immediately at its entry. Its slow movement is as reverential as a hymn, its rondo is vivacious, allowing for flashing virtuoso displays by the soloist.

Orpheus will also perform a new commission by Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Aaron Jay Kernis, "Concerto with Echoes." Inspired by Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, the composer, in his own words, attempts to "include everything in music -- soaring melody, tension, dissonance, drive, relaxation, strong harmony and form." Eclectic, brazen, and exuberant, Kernis has been described as mixing passion with chutzpah.